Double Crossed
by AkaneKitty
Summary: As Feral's plan unfolds, the SWAT Kats blindly follow Hard Drive's trail of clues. Will their loyalty to Callie be their downfall? Also, Felina begins to notice something strange about her uncle's relationship with the Deputy Mayor.
1. The Plan

Hi, all. AkaneKitty here.

This chapter one of Double Crossed, a story that came about due to an interesting 'What if?' session. See if you can guess it...I'll reveal it in the next chapter.

Summary: The SWAT Kats' greatest threat may be closer to them than they could ever imagine...

I don't expect this to go on too long...in fact, I'm interested (maybe scared) of the reaction to one character's direction.

As always, send any comments or questions to or I welcome both.

Thanks,

AkaneKitty

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Double Crossed

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_Thunk!_

"Nice shot! You should enter that dart competition."

"...Why not? We're going to have a lot more time on our paws now, won't we?"

Glumly, Jake retrieved the darts he had thrown while Chance conquered another level of Space Kat II: The Revenge.

This is what the SWAT Kat were reduced to: playing games in a cheap arcade when they usually were out on patrol.

But not tonight. Or any other night in the future.

And whose fault is that?

"C'mon, Jake...You can't mean that!" Chance paused to pass a particularly tricky area of Space Kat. "As soon as this blows over, we'll-"

"This will not blow over! We're done! Finished!" Jake threw another dart at the board in frustration. "And on top of all that, we can't be trusted anymore!"

Chance slammed his paw onto the game's buttons, resulting in Space Kat's untimely demise. "...I still can't believe it. After all we've done, we're just common crooks now."

"And it's our fault."

"But s-"

Jake shook his head. "It was a trap from the very start, remember?"

"This all started...when Hard Drive hacked into the city's bank accounts..."

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"All that money! Gone! That was the city's operating budget for the next three months! How could you let this happen?"

"How could I let this happen? I'm not psychic, Ms. Briggs! Maybe if your bank had followed the security protocol I provided for them, you wouldn't be in this mess!"

"So, you're saying that this is my fault?"

"I didn't say that!"

T-Bone and Razor chuckled at the scene that was unfolding a few feet away from them. Like clockwork, those two.

The Feral-Briggs argument. One could say they had it down to a science. This time, it was in front of the MegaKat City First National Bank. Regardless of who was around them, they had the biggest blowups.

It was like looking at a show, at times.

Callie folded her arms across her chest. "I assume that you won't be able to recover the missing money."

"You can assume all you want, Ms. Briggs. I have a job to do."

With that, Feral turned on his heel and returned to his troops. The SWAT Kats took that as their cue to approach Callie.

"Trouble?" T-Bone asked.

"Nothing you guys can't handle." Callie's smile seemed strained, "Of all of the times for Hard Drive to strike..."

"How much did he get?" Razor asked absentmindedly while monitoring his glovatrix. He had calibrated it to register electrical arcs.

"Most of the city's operating budget. We have insurance, but we need that money back." Callie inched closer to T-Bone and touched his arm slightly. "You'll be able to get it all back, right?"

"O-Of course!" T-Bone, thrilled with the attention he was getting from the Deputy Mayor, turned to Razor. "Got anything yet?"

"Nothing...Hold on!" Razor's glovatrix registered a power spike. "Got him! He's hit the power grid and is heading east. We gotta go, T-Bone!"

"Right!" T-Bone turned to Callie. "Don't worry, Ms. Briggs. We'll get Hard Drive for you."

"I'm sure you will." Callie lightly traced T-Bone's arm with her claws before turning to walk to her limo. "I've got to report this to Manx. Keep me posted, okay?"

T-Bone didn't have a chance to respond since Razor started dragging the pilot back to the TurboKat. Callie waved them goodbye, and returned to her limo.

Watching the scene unfold a few feet away with his Enforcers was Commander Feral. Amused, he chuckled to himself.

"Works every time."

"What works, sir?"

"...Nothing." Feral turned to his sergeant. "Was the trace placed on those accounts?"

"Yes, sir. Working like a charm and tracking Hard Drive now."

"Good. Alert the cyber crimes unit that the trace is in place and to wait for my orders." Feral crossed his arms. "There's something fishy about why Hard Drive hacked into those accounts, and I want to know why."

"Yes, sir!"

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"West...west! T-Bone! Did you here me?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah...Heading west!"

Annoyed, Razor continued to bark out instructions over the roar of the TurboKat's engines. Once again, every time the Deputy Mayor showed him a little attention, the pilot's head literally floated in the clouds.

Not that he blamed his friend...it's just that they had more pressing matters to attend to. Hard Drive was tough enough to follow without Callie's distractions.

"Stay on him, T-Bone!" Razor shouted. "Looks like there are some transformers in that substation up ahead. If he hits them, I'll loose his signal!"

"You got it!"

T-Bone, following Razor's directions, maneuvered the TurboKat around. Soon, Hard Drive's telltale electrical arc became visible on the power lines below.

"Can you get Hard Drive from here?" T-Bone asked.

"Negative! He's just out of range for the pincher missiles. If I let them loose here, I'll kill power to a good portion of this area!"

"Since when has that stopped us before?"

"Since I'm trying not to induce a Feral-sized headache. I accidentally took out the hospital district's power the last time, remember?" Razor looked at his monitor. "He's still out of range. Get closer!"

T-Bone muttered under his breath, tightening his grip on the throttle. "C'mon... Just a bit more..."

"T-Bone!"

With Razor breaking his concentration, T-Bone noticed the substation quickly coming into view. Pulling back hard on the throttle, he maneuvered the TurboKat into a steep vertical climb.

"That was close." T-Bone took a deep breath as he leveled off the TurboKat.

"Tell me about it. And we lost Hard Drive, too." Razor sighed. "Once he hit those transformers, it was all over. He could be clear across town by now."

"So, now what?"

"Nothing. But, if I can get a look at those accounts Hard Drive hacked into, maybe I'll get a clue to where he's headed to next." Razor nodded to himself. "Let's go back to MegaKat First National Bank after dark and check it out."

"And in the meantime, we head back to the yard." T-Bone replied. "I can smell the backlog from here."

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"All that money...is gone?"

"I'm afraid so, Mayor. Hard Drive hacked into the city's accounts."

"This is terrible!" Manx paced in Callie's office. "We needed that money for the Tower presentation!"

Callie looked at him. "The affected accounts aren't being used for Tower. The presentation should be fine."

"Eh..." Manx looked nervous. "Be that as it may, we can't show Young our weakened condition. Is there anything we can do?"

"Well, we do have our insurance policy. I just need the Commander to sign off on it...but I think it'll require him to do an investigation of some sort..."

"...No!"

Callie blinked. "No?"

"I don't want any investigation!" Manx was practically standing on Callie's desk now. "That will definitely drive Mr. Young away!"

"How could it? We've been in worse situations than this! And, if we don't do something soon, the city will shut down!"

"I don't care! We can't involve the Enforcers in any type of investigation, no matter how trivial." Manx looked even more nervous. "Is there anything else we can do?"

"Well..." Callie paused as if to contemplate something. "Feral did tell me that there was one account Hard Drive couldn't get into because he was discovered. We might be able to float the city on that account."

Manx sighed, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. Do it. I'll leave it you."

Callie crossed her arms. "And if we run out of money?"

"I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out, my dear." Manx walked toward Callie's office door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a golf game to attend to."

Manx exited the office and Callie reached into her desk and retrieved a small recorder and her cell phone. Turning of the recorder, she pressed a button on her phone. It automatically dialed a preset number.

A recorded message played through the phone's speakers. It was to be expected...Callie's heard this message many times before. She chuckled. After everything that's happened, they could at least change it to something a little more personable. Callie waited for the message tone.

"It's me. Everything's fine. See you tonight."

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"...Hot! Hot! Hot!"

In a remote section of the city, Hard Drive tossed his overloaded surge coat onto the ground. In trying to escape the SWAT Kats, he pushed his coat to the limit and nearly zapped himself. Grumbling, he sat down next to it.

This is what he had gotten himself into. His compulsion to hack into computer networks had gotten himself cornered and this was the only way to get out of it. 'Hack into the city's budget accounts and create a trail,' they said. All that money...and he couldn't touch a cent! Well he could...but his previous arrangements would go out the window. If only he could override that failsafe...

"Don't even think about it, Hard Drive."

The hacker cringes as another kat materialized from the shadows. "Y-You! How did you find me?"

"By following your signal." The kat walked over and picked up the coat. He gave it a quick look over. "You're not a hard kat to find, you know."

Hard Drive scrambled to get up. "My burden to bear."

"So...are you following the plan?"

"Yes, yes."

"Good. Your services are greatly appreciated." The kat tossed Hard Drive's surge coat back to him. "Remember, as soon as you detect the SWAT Kats..."

"I know, I know!" Hard Drive sighed and slipped back into his coat. "How did I get into this?"

"Because you have no choice in the matter...that is, if you want to stay out here."

"...Is that what they're calling entrapment these days?"

The kat smirked. "It's your own fault. By the way, if I get a hint of you not following the plan, I'll trip that failsafe."

"But...what if I'm in the line? I'll fry!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. See you around."

The kat walked away, and Hard Drive shuddered. That kat was more ruthless than Dark Kat...and with Dark Kat, at least he knew what the kat wanted. He almost felt sorry for the SWAT Kats.

They would never see this one coming.

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Later that night...

"C'mon...C'mon...Bingo!"

A satisfying click is heard as Razor deactivated First National Bank's security system. A few minutes later, T-Bone and Razor make their way through the bank's hallways.

"The Enforcers probably took the servers, so we can't track Hard Drive that way." Razor mused aloud. "But, I'm sure the bank president has access to those accounts. Let's go."

The duo reached the bank president's office, and Razor picked the lock. The kat quickly located the computer and booted it up.

"Better hurry, sureshot. The longer we keep that alarm off, the more we risk the Enforcers stopping by." T-Bone looked over Razor's shoulder. "Find anything?"

"Not yet."

After a few minutes of digging, Razor came across the city's accounts. "Hmm...Just like Callie said, it looks like all of the accounts were drained. Except one...interesting."

"What does that mean?"

Suddenly, a car door slammed shut out side, and T-Bone rushed to the window. "Great...It's Felina."

"Probably here since the alarm was deactivated." Razor looked up. "If she catches us in here, she's going to have to report us to Feral and I don't want to put her in that position. The less she knows, the better."

"So..."

"Go distract her or something."

"Why me?"

Razor just looked at the pilot. T-Bone sighed.

"Okay, okay. I'll do it."

T-Bone quietly slipped out of the office and into the hallway. He needed to get as far away from the president's office as possible, and make it look like he was just looking around. Pushing a button on his glovatrix, he activated the flashlight and began walking down the bank's halls. Sure enough, he happened upon Felina.

T-Bone walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Felina!"

Startled, the lieutenant whirled around and nearly shoved her sidearm into the pilot's face.

"Whoa!" T-Bone threw his paws up.

"T-Bone?" Felina took a deep breath and holstered her sidearm. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"I was going to ask you the same question."

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for evidence. Why are you here?"

"To see who deactivated the alarm. I have my answer." Felina began to look around. "Where's Razor?"

"He's looking for clues elsewhere in the bank." T-Bone said quickly. He had to keep her distracted. "Why are you responding to this? Aren't you up in the skies patrolling by now?"

"Usually, but uncle grounded me."

"He did?" T-Bone asked, alarmed. "Did you do anything wrong?"

"...No." Felina looked confused. "Uncle grounds all of his pilots from time to time to keep us in line...So he says."

"Ah..."

Felina began to look around some more. "You two need to get out of here. You know I need to report this to Uncle and the less I need to tell him the better.

"Will do." Razor materialized from behind Felina and walked over to T-Bone.

"Find anything?"

"Not really." Razor answered, but T-Bone knew that wasn't the case.

"Hmm...It sounded like the Deputy Mayor wasn't too happy with Uncle today."

"Well, he did lose a lot of money..."

"Uncle didn't lose anything!" Felina became defensive. "We've been on this bank to update their security protocols for months! Maybe the Deputy Mayor should have made sure they were followed."

"Maybe she did, and the bank officials didn't do their job." T-Bone retorted.

Felina chuckled and shook her head. "...She's sure got you two pegged."

"What do you mean?"

"We Enforcers have an inside term for that." Felina smirked. "But, I'll just be polite and say that you two are 'hen-pecked'."

"...Whatever! We're going!"

Irked, T-Bone dragged a very confused Razor away. Still chuckling, Felina continued her inspection of the bank.

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"'...'Hen-pecked'?"

"Ah...Felina's just defending her uncle."

"Maybe. But, I do wonder what the Enforcers really call us, though..."

Still stinging a bit from Felina's remarks, T-Bone guided the TurboKat high above MegaKat City. "Did you find anything out?"

"A little." Razor sat back in his seat. "It looks like Hard Drive is doing jumps from server to server, taking the account information with him. He has a unique signature, so I should be able to track him when he hits the grid again."

"Know where he's headed?"

"Can't tell, but it looks like he has something in mind. We should report this to Callie."

"Roger that."

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"...Don't worry, Ms. Briggs. When Hard Drive pops up again, we'll be ready for him."

"Thanks, guys. I'm sure you'll be able to get him. Keep me posted."

Satisfied, Callie poured herself a glass of milk. So far, so good.

Manx hadn't suspected a thing...except for missing his payoff money that he had hidden in the city's budget accounts. Did the idiot think she wouldn't notice? After all, it was her responsibility to look after those accounts. And if there was any sort investigation, she would take the fall for it! That had been the final straw.

Little did he know that he wouldn't be the Mayor for much longer. So what the way it came about was slightly unethical. She learned from the best.

Too bad she had to get the SWAT Kats involved.

Sighing, Callie traced her glass with her claws. As much as she wanted to tell them it wasn't personal, she couldn't. If only she wasn't caught that night...but then again, it was because she was caught that got her the help she needed. The SWAT Kats were going to become collateral damage, and the sooner she separated herself from them, the better.

That's what her 'partner' told her, at least. Didn't mean she actually had to truly like it.

Callie heard the door click behind her. "...You're late."

"Sorry. Making sure Hard Drive wasn't getting any ideas about overriding that failsafe I installed in his coat."

"...I see." Callie swung around in her chair. "Do you think he can be trusted?"

"No. In fact, I expect him to figure out how to hack into that failsafe. But by then, his role in the plan should be finished."

Callie nodded and picked up her glass.

"...Having second thoughts?"

"Well..."

"Don't forget...It was you who ultimately gave up the SWAT Kats...among other things."

"But it was you who suggested to give them up in the first place!" Callie retorted.

"True...but I thought it was a fair trade. After all, you get to become Mayor."

"And you get rid of the two 'clowns' that beat you all the time. Am I correct, Commander?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say all the time..." Feral chuckled and emerged from the shadows. "After all, I got you, didn't I?"

"I am not-"

"Not what?" Feral sat in front of her. "Remember 'darling', I'm risking a lot more than you are right now...but investigations are all about timing. I could let you drown with Manx...but what would our katizens do then?"

"You wouldn't..."

"Besides, you're enjoying this too much. Am I right, dear?"

"...Possibly."

"So, if you don't want to end up like Manx, I'd suggest you put that "Calico Briggs Effect' to good use and continue to lead our resident vigilantes down the right path. Everything else will fall into place."

Callie glared at Feral for a bit but then softened and smiled. "All's fair in love and war, huh?"

"Perhaps. But when it comes to love..." Feral smirked and leaned in close to Callie.

"...I think I've already won that round."


	2. The Set Up: Part 1

Hello! After a small delay, here is chapter two of _Double Crossed_.

As Feral's plan unfolds, the SWAT Kats blindly follow Hard Drive's trail of clues. Will their loyalty to Callie be their downfall? Also, Felina begins to notice something strange about her uncle's relationship with the Deputy Mayor.

Author's note: First, thank you all so very much for all the reviews! I admit...I was a little scared of the possible reaction to Callie in this story, as she's the one betraying the SWAT Kats. But as you all can see, there's much more here than simple betrayal.

Oh yeah, coldfiredragon: You expected Feral's corruption? Interesting...

The 'what-if?' game I played to get this story idea was: What if Callie's and Feral's arguments were just for show?

I loved Felina's snarkiness in this chapter. Don't know why it came while I was writing, but it does.

As always, I welcome any comments and/or reviews. Send either to FFN or to my e-mail. Enjoy!

Thanks!

AkaneKitty

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Double Crossed

The Set Up: Part One

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"Feral and Callie, huh? I still don't believe it."

"Well, apparently everyone else noticed it but us. What did Felina say? That their arguments were playful?"

Jake slowly chewed his slice of pizza as Chance reached for his own slice. Still in the arcade, the two friends decided to take a break from venting their frustrations by playing video games and order some pizza.

"Our enjoyment of their arguments blinded us." Jake said thoughtfully. "And we fell right into their trap."

"Maybe. But, I still think Callie is more innocent in this situation than it appears." Chance added more mongo pepper slices to his slice of pizza. "I mean, it's obvious that Feral had to have something on her..."

"You still think that, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Remember, it was Felina who showed you how easy it is to get wrapped around a she-kat's claws."

"That's because she was acting like she was jealous of Callie!"

"That wasn't jealousy, Chance! That was a she-kat that knows just how calculating other she-kats can be." Jake sat back in his chair. "Besides, you didn't help things by goading Felina like you did, remember?"

"Boy, do I." Chance slammed a glass of milk.

"Felina definitely had something to prove that day..."

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"So...Our resident vigilantes were doing a little investigating of their own, hmm?"

"Yep. It's all in the report. But, that's not the best part."

"Oh?"

Felina smiled as she and Feral made their way through Enforcer headquarters. "They were sticking up for Ms. Briggs a bit too much, so I informed them that we Enforcers have a certain term for that."

"...You told them?"

"I wanted to...but I was polite and told them that they were 'hen-pecked.'"

Feral, chuckling, paused briefly in order to regain control of himself. "Nice."

"Thank you." Felina stopped beside her uncle. "So, when do I get back up in the air?"

"Sorry, Felina. You're still grounded until further notice."

"What do you mean I'm still grounded?" Felina chased after her uncle as he resumed his walk.

"Felina, you have spent the least amount of time on the ground than any of my other pilots. In fairness to them, I would like you to stay put for a while."

"But..."

"You'll be back in the air if something major happens. I promise." Feral paused outside his office door. "So indulge me...just this once?"

"...Fine." Felina looked up. "Can I get that new bazooka with that as well?"

"Don't press your luck."

"It was worth a try."

Smiling a bit, Feral pushed open his office door. "I'll think about-"

"It's about time you showed up, Commander."

Feral stopped dead in his tracks, nearly causing Felina to run into the back of him. She did a quick sidestep into Feral's office.

"Hey! What's going on?" Felina finally got the chance to look at what her uncle was staring at. "Oh..."

Perched on Feral's desk was Callie, who seemed to straighten up a bit as soon as she saw Felina. As the Deputy Mayor smoothed her suit, Felina wondered if she was intruding on something.

Feral broke the silence. "Contrary to what you think, I am not your personal kat servant!"

"Maybe you should be. Millions of dollars of the city's budget are still missing and you haven't done a thing!"

"I have not been sitting on my tail about this! If you want instant results with high property damage, call the SWAT Kats!"

Callie crossed her arms and her legs. "If it makes up for your shortcomings, maybe I should."

"My what?"

Felina inched backwards towards the door. Witnessing the Deputy Mayor's and her uncle's arguments always made her feel as though she was intruding on something...intimate. The SWAT Kats may enjoy their spats, but she didn't. "Uncle, I have patrol soon. Talk to you later?"

"Of course." Feral waited until Felina left the office and then slowly approached Callie. "...Shortcomings?"

"Relax, Ulysses...I was just insuring that Felina would leave." Callie slid her paw into the briefcase that was sitting beside her and pulled out a large brown envelope. She handed it to Feral. "Here you go."

"What's this?"

"MegaKat City's insurance claim paperwork."

"I see...I assume you signed it?"

"Of course I did. I sign all of the city's official paperwork, remember?" Callie leaned forward a bit and dangled one of her high heels off her foot. "Besides, Manx's signature is easy enough to forge."

"I take it that His Honor didn't want this?"

"Of course not. An insurance claim means you have to investigate those bank records...and Manx wouldn't want that now, would he?"

"Not when he's guilty of accepting Mr. Young's funny money." Smirking, Feral leaned against his desk. "By the way, Calico...That was an awfully big risk you took earlier."

"Oh?"

"Be glad I was only with Felina, or you would have had to explain yourself."

"Perhaps. But I know your schedule enough to take that risk." Callie slowly traced Feral's face with her claw. "You're alone now, right?"

"...Later."

"Spoilsport."

Feral smiled. He had to admire Calico's resolve. "You still believe that works? If I recall correctly, that's what got you in trouble in the first place."

"Maybe. But then again, it's proving to solve all my problems." Callie hopped off Feral's desk and stood in front of him. "It seems that that my 'down payment' was put to good use."

"Is that so?"

"Of course." Callie nodded, reaching up to stroke one of Feral's ears. "It's helping me find your weakness, Commander."

Feral allowed himself to enjoy the feeling for a moment before taking a step backwards. "Good luck in finding it, dear."

Callie's small, determined smirk reminded Feral just how precarious their 'relationship' actually was. Sure, they were getting what they both wanted now, but that didn't mean things were 'even'.

Feral knew he was going to have pay for accepting that down payment. But in the meantime, he might as well enjoy it.

Callie's cell phone rung, so she hastily pulled it out of her briefcase and looked at the screen. "Great. Manx is calling me. I'd better get over there to prepare for Hard Drive's latest move. He will be following the plan today, right?"

"He will if he values his freedom."

"Then I will see you privately later on tonight then...barring Hard Drive's handiwork." Smiling, Callie grabbed her briefcase and headed toward the door. "Ready?"

Feral nodded, and Callie threw open Feral's office door. Tossing her hair, Callie exaggerated stalking out of Feral's office. By the reactions of his Enforcers, Feral knew they believed the Deputy Mayor was still angry with him and was storming out of Headquarters in a huff. So far, so good.

Feral chucked. He had to admit he enjoyed Callie stalking off in a huff when she was angry. In fact, even prior to their partnership, Feral deliberately made Callie angry at times just to see it.

What Feral didn't know was the fact that Callie enjoyed attention she got as well.

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"This is bad...really bad!"

Sitting in his office, First National Bank's President Brian Thomason loosened his tie. His bank was still shut down, and it was going to take awhile before it could reopen again. What a headache.

Of all of the times that hacker had to strike, he chose the worst possible time! He knew that the mayor couldn't be happy...the money Manx forced him to place into the city's budgeting accounts was almost gone, but he guessed that was the price His Honor had to pay. Putting one over the Deputy Mayor was proving to be quite costly.

He reached for the phone. Maybe the Deputy Mayor would be forgiving and not hold this against him or the bank. But, if he had only followed bank policy...

His computer monitor flickered. Distracted, Thomason stopped reaching for the phone in order to hit the screen.

"Cheap computers...Eh?"

A computerized face materialized on Thomason's computer screen before a lightning arc blasted out of it. Startled, Thomason fell out of his chair.

"Finally! It was getting a little too cramped in there."

"What the-?" Thomason scrambled to his feet as the lightning arc morphed into a physical form of the wired hacker. "Hard Drive?"

"In the flesh." Hard Drive cracked his knuckles. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a city account that has my name on it."

Thomason slowly stood up and inched his way towards the door. If he could only reach the silent alarm button...

An electrical zap stopped his efforts. Hard Drive chuckled.

"Now, now. No need for that." Hard Drive connected his surge coat into Thomason's computer. "My mere presence should attract the kats you want here soon enough."

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"T-Bone! I'm registering a spike at the First National Bank! It's Hard Drive!"

"Roger that." T-Bone swung the TurboKat around. "I wonder why Hard Drive showed up there again? Isn't that risky?"

"Very. But I'm guessing the lure of that one account he couldn't hack got the best of him." Razor readied his glovatrix. "C'mon, T-Bone! We need to catch him in the act!"

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"'You're grounded,' he says. Great. Why couldn't he have done that during the first rotation?"

Sighing, Felina drummed her claws against her patrol car's steering wheel. This was boring. She was more at home in the sky. It had more excitement.

Speaking of excitement, it seemed that she missed the Deputy Mayor stalking out of Enforcers' Headquarters...again. Apparently, it was after another argument.

What was with those two? If she didn't know any better, it looked like they enjoyed it a little too much. Not that it was a problem...but why hide it if it kept her uncle from looking like the bad kat all the time? Especially since everyone else thought...

Felina cleared her throat. It wasn't her problem. Uncle could take care of himself.

Her squad car's radio crackled. "Lieutenant Feral! Are you there?"

Steadying the steering wheel with one paw, Felina reached for the radio with the other. "I'm here, dispatch. Go ahead."

"Remember the trace the Commander had the cyber crimes unit place on that account?"

"Yes..."

"Well, it tripped and started tracking Hard Drive again. Looks like he's back at First National Bank." The dispatcher's voice crackled. "And since you're the only unit in the area right now..."

"Has the Commander been notified?"

"He has. But, he's on the other side of the city right now. "

"Roger. I'm on my way."

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"It looks quiet in there."

"Of course, T-Bone. The bank hasn't reopened yet."

After arriving at the bank, Razor stepped under the Enforcers' yellow caution tape and pushed on the bank's doors. To his surprise, the door opened.

"Let's go."

"Roger that."

Readying their glovatrix, T-Bone and Razor slowly entered the bank. The lobby was dark, and it was hard to see anything.

"Careful, T-Bone. This could be a trap."

"That's because it is, SWAT Kat."

The SWAT Kats barely had time to react before the bank's doors closed and locked themselves. The voice chuckled.

"Hard Drive!"

"These new bank devices are fascinating." Hard Drive's voice echoed in the lobby. "The very security measures designed to keep me out are keeping you in."

T-Bone inched closer to Razor, who was urgently monitoring his glovatrix. "Can you get a fix on him?"

"Negative! There's too much equipment in here to give me an accurate location."

"Better hurry up, SWAT Kats." Hard Drive's face appeared on a monitor. "The more you wait, the more money I receive from the city's bank accounts."

T-Bone fired at the screen. It exploded into many pieces. Hard Drive chuckled again.

"Too slow, SWAT Kat."

"C'mon, c'mon...Gotcha!" Razor managed to isolate Hard Drive's unique signature. "T-Bone! Duck!"

The bigger tom crouched as Razor aimed his glovatrix at the wall and fired. Electric conduit was exposed due to a chunk of the wall disappearing. An electric hum filled the tense air.

"Still too slow, but you're getting warmer!"

"He's moving!" Razor thought with gritted teeth. He readjusted his aim and fired again, this time hitting a nearby wall. Dust filled air.

T-Bone coughed. "Did you get him?"

"Of course not. You were just following my echo."

The SWAT Kats barely had time to react when a pair of electrified hands appeared from the cloud of dust and grabbed their gun paws. Squeezing them, Hard Drive lifted both SWAT Kats into the air.

"Let's play a game!" Hard Drive laughed as he sent volts of electricity through the SWAT Kats' glovatrix. "It's called: How much electricity can a SWAT Kat take before dying?"

"Gah!" Razor struggled as Hard Drive's surge coat began to burn through his glovatrix's insulation. They needed to get away from him, or...

"Freeze!"

Hard Drive stopped his current of electricity flow to the SWAT Kats as he felt the cold steel of a gun's muzzle against his temple. "Lieutenant Feral...How nice."

Felina adjusted her grip on her gun. "Put the SWAT Kats down, and slowly put your paws in the air."

Hard Drive slowly turned his head toward Felina and smiled. "'I guess you weren't part of the plan..."

"Huh?"

Dropping the SWAT Kats, Hard Drive suddenly became electrified and zapped away. Cursing under her breath, Felina holstered her gun and moved toward the SWAT Kats' side.

"Are you guys okay?" Felina offered T-Bone a paw.

"We're fine, just a little singed." T-Bone accepted Felina's paw and stood up. "Hard Drive looked like he got what he wanted, so why did he stick around?"

"Maybe to gloat and get us at the same time. He fried our glovatrix." Razor snatched it off his paw and hurled it across the lobby in frustration. "Ms. Briggs isn't going to be happy..."

"I'll say." T-Bone tossed his as well, and turned back to Felina. "How'd you get in here?"

"I used my keycard. All upper level Enforcers have them."

"Ah." T-Bone heard the strains of Enforcer sirens fast approaching. "Late, as usual."

"Spare me! I am an Enforcer and I am on time!" Felina turned around. "I need to secure the crime scene. You can either leave or stay, but knowing you guys, you'll choose the later."

Slightly insulted, Felina walked away. T-Bone sighed.

"You know...I keep forgetting that Felina is an Enforcer."

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After a while, both Callie and Feral arrived at the bank. While Feral concerned himself with Hard Drive's hack attempt and talking with his Enforcers, Callie appeared to be more worried about the budget accounts. She sighed.

"Just how am I supposed to explain this to Manx?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Ms. Briggs. You're good at that."

The infuriated look on Callie's face alerted everyone that another argument was brewing. "This is your fault Feral!"

"My fault? My only fault was not insuring that you made sure this bank followed the new security protocols that I provided for them. But since no one listens to me anyways..."

"And why do you think that is, Feral? Let me tell you...it's not because of charming personality!"

Felina rolled her eyes. "Here we go again..."

"Another fight in the making." T-Bone chuckled.

"Apparently. But, doesn't it seem...I don't know...playful to you?"

"Playful?" Razor spoke up. "How can an argument like that be playful to you?"

"It's just that it seems like they get a lot of enjoyment out of it." Felina watched as both Feral and Callie walked to the back of the bank, presumably to go talk with the bank's president. "Besides, you didn't see the argument they had earlier today."

"Another one?"

"Yep." Felina looked around the bank's lobby. "What a mess! Can't you guys be more subtle?"

"C'mon, Felina...Subtle isn't in our vocabulary."

"So are a lot of other things." Felina, noticing her reflection in the bank's window, walked over to it. "Kats! I really need to get a haircut. I didn't notice it before since it was in a helmet all the time, but now..."

"Why would you need a haircut?" Razor asked innocently.

Felina smiled wanly. "I don't know...maybe so I can stop looking like a pilot."

"What's wrong with looking like a pilot?"

"Nothing! It's just..." Felina turned to T-Bone. "Tell me...When you look at me, what do you see?"

Puzzled, T-Bone shrugged. "...A pilot?"

Felina sighed. "Exactly."

Even more confused, T-Bone paused to scratch his ear. "Aren't you a pilot, Felina? I mean..."

"There's nothing wrong with being viewed as a pilot ninety percent of the time. It's just that when it comes to the rest, I'd like to be viewed as a she-kat." Felina interrupted. "And since most of the kats I deal with are like you, T-Bone, I'm always a pilot!"

"You mean a she-kat like the Deputy Mayor? Because not everyone can be cute like her, you know..."

"Cute...like...her?" Felina's face registered of mixture of shock and anger. "Of all of the she-kats to get compared to, I get Her Royal 'Pain in the Tail' Highness herself?"

"Well..."

"Kats!"

Razor shook his head. Even he knew T-Bone had wandered into dangerous territory. "Foot, meet mouth."

"Deputy Mayor this! Deputy Mayor that! I'm sick of it!"

"You sound jealous."

"I am not jealous!" Felina placed her paws on her hips. "I'm just sick of every male besides my uncle falling for that blonde's charms!"

T-Bone grinned. "Maybe that's because your Uncle doesn't know a good thing when he sees it."

"Or maybe he just knows when to separate business from pleasure." Felina retorted.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Felina smirked. "Maybe all those arguments of theirs are fuelling something else that you can't provide."

"What can your uncle provide that we can't?"

"Plenty! Just because you don't like my uncle doesn't mean everyone else does!"

"Like Ms. Briggs would ever fall for..."

"...Someone like my uncle, right? Kats!" Felina shook her head. "No wonder Ms. Briggs has you wrapped around her claws. And I bet it didn't take much, too!"

"Prove it!"

Bemused, Razor watched as Felina got real close to T-Bone. "This is going to trouble..."

"Let me guess...she got real close to you, hmm?" Felina lowered her voice and started lightly tracing T-Bone's stripes with her claws. "Started to run her claws along your arm...whispering in your ear...telling you how strong you are...and how you're the only one that can help her...and before you know it..."

Felina leaned in closer to the pilot and whispered, "The Deputy Mayor is a blonde ditz."

"The Deputy Mayor..." T-Bone repeated, "...Is a blonde ditz."

"Good boy." Satisfied, Felina stepped back from T-Bone and snapped her claws. T-Bone involuntarily took a step back.

"Huh? What'd I say?" T-Bone demanded as a calm Felina walked away to rejoin a group of Enforcers that stood nearby. Razor could only shake his head.

"And once again...Foot, meet mouth."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"...Just how much did Hard Drive take this time?"

"Half the city's last remaining bank account."

"Oh, really? That's too bad."

In his bank office, Thomason gulped. He thought the Deputy Mayor would be angry with him, but her rather calm reaction shocked him. Maybe this was his chance to come clean.

"Ms. Briggs...about those affected accounts..." Thomason cleared his throat. "Mayor Manx requested that a large lump sum of money be distributed among them. I know I violated bank policy by failing to notify the city council and you of his action, but His Honor threatened to take the city's business elsewhere, and..."

"Relax, Mr. Thomason. I already know."

Thomason couldn't hide his surprise. "You...knew?"

"I monitor all of the city's accounts. You know that." Callie paused to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Otherwise, how would things get done around here?"

Thomason's surprise quickly turned into fear as he saw Commander Feral materialize behind the Deputy Mayor. She turned towards him.

"Commander, Mr. Thomason was just telling me that he violated bank policy by allowing Manx's illegally obtained money to be deposited among the city's bank accounts."

"I was wondering how Manx was able to slip under my radar without implicating himself. Now we know." Feral looked at the bank president. "That could mean some serious jail time."

"Ah..."

"Mr. Thomason, I'd suggest that if you don't want to end up in Alkatraz, you will help the Commander's current investigation and not say a word my knowledge of Manx's dealings to anyone. In return, I won't move to remove the city's budget accounts from your bank." Callie smiled a bit. "Not for a while at least."

Thomason blinked. The accounts had been under Enforcer investigation? "That's blackmail!"

"No it's not. It's called a deal." Feral leaned in close. "Because as of right now, if you don't take the Deputy Mayor's offer, I will charge you as Manx's accomplice."

"And that's not a threat, Mr. Thomason...it's a promise."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Much later...

"Uncle, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"It depends on the question... But, shoot."

Felina drew in her breath. After securing the bank with her fellow Enforcers, she requested to be her uncle's driver for the rest of the shift. She needed to talk with him privately away from the rest of squad...and the SWAT Kats.

"What is your relationship with Ms. Briggs?"

"My relationship...with the Deputy Mayor?" Feral repeated the question in order bide himself some time. Did Felina figure his new 'relationship' with Calico out? He always had to remind himself that his niece was very perceptive.

"...Uncle?"

"It can be very...adverse...at times." Feral glanced at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it seems like you're one of the few kats that I don't that don't drool over her."

"Ah...Is that what that argument involving the SWAT Kats that I heard of was about?"

"Er..."

Feral chuckled. If she only knew. "Ms. Briggs _is_ attractive, but she's likes the SWAT Kats. I don't. Also, I'm a Feral and we don't fall for looks alone."

"I'm sure that's what dad said until he met mom."

"True. And besides," Feral smirked, "I just like arguing with her. It's cathartic."

"I thought that was the case." Felina tapped the steering wheel. "But, I told the SWAT Kats that could be something more just to mess with them."

"I see..." Feral crossed his arms. That could be an unexpected benefit.

"By the way, before he arced out into the electrical system, Hard Drive said something weird to me."

"Oh? What did he say?"

"'I guess you weren't part of the plan', or something like that."

Feral gritted his teeth. "That...idiot..."

"Huh?"

"That idiot probably had a plan against the SWAT Kats, but didn't plan on you showing up." Feral said quickly. He then straightened up.

"Felina."

"Yes, uncle?"

"Drop me off at headquarters. You are relieved of driving me for the rest of the shift."

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"So...I assume I won't be seeing you tonight?"

"Sorry, darling. A situation has come regarding Hard Drive and I need to take care of it...And where are you exactly?"

"My office. Where else? I have to keep up appearances some of the time, you know. Especially if I'm supposed to be worried about the missing money."

Callie drummed her pen against the desk as she cradled her phone against her ear. It was a pain that they had to depend on Hard Drive, but you need a small fish to get a big fish...at least that's what Feral said. "Can you handle your situation?"

"I was planning on the hacker to do something stupid, so it's not a problem. All it does is move up our timetable up a bit." Feral said. "Are you ready with your end of the bargain?"

"...Is this the only way we can handle this?"

"Calico, may I remind you of how your vigilantes nearly took out the hospital district? And it's backup generators? Remember, as mayor, you can't keep covering for them."

"But..."

"...Or do you want me to stop my plan and let my previous investigation run its course? Because if I do that..."

"Okay, okay. I see your point. I'll do it."

"Good. Let me know how it turns out."

Callie slowly slid close her cell phone. She reached into her purse and withdrew her communicator. Now it's finally come to this, and she couldn't believe that she was about do the one thing that would have been unfathomable mere months ago. But, it was either collateral damage, or...

She pressed the button. After a few seconds, Razor's voice is clearly heard.

"Yes, Ms. Briggs?"

"Guys, I need a small favor..."

To be continued...


End file.
